Monthly Archives: January 2011

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee’s hearings on the education Medicaid budgets were a big hit. Large crowds of people attended those meetings to express their concern for the direction the committee takes in handling those budgets. It was a refreshing sight … Continue reading →

Two observations about higher education in Idaho: One, we can’t continue to raise tuition. Two, we can’t continue to cut higher education to the bone. This leads me to a third observation: We can’t continue with the 1970s mentality for … Continue reading →

Clark Krause, the new executive director of the Boise Valley Economic Partnership, had an interesting piece in the Idaho Statesman today. He talked about attracting new jobs as a team effort. It’s going to take a serious team effort  to … Continue reading →

For sentimental reasons, it’s great to see the Green Bay Packers battling for the NFL championship. It takes me back to my growing-up years in Osburn, when the Packers were the kings of football in the 1960s. I had a … Continue reading →

If the election were held today, I imagine Gov. Otter would receive more than 70 percent of the vote, State Superintendent Tom Luna would get close to 80 percent and Republicans would gain another four or five seats in the … Continue reading →

I’m not sure if State Supt. Tom Luna’s plan for public schools will be good for Idaho, but there must be some merit to it since the Idaho Education Association (IEA) opposed to it. In terms of structure and culture, … Continue reading →

During last fall’s election campaign, United Vision of Idaho invited legislative candidates to a forum. Predictably, quite a few Democratic candidates spoke at the forum. Only one Republican, Dan Loughrey from District 17, spoke that evening. A few people told … Continue reading →

Cecil Andrus, one of my all-time favorite people in Idaho politics, had a way of attracting people to his side – which explains why he was one of the most successful people in the history of Idaho politics. During his … Continue reading →

Gov. Otter has spent much of his political career talking about Ronald Reagan and all the positive things he brought to this country during challenging times. In his State-of-the-State message on Monday, I saw a bit of the Old Gipper … Continue reading →

I love those metaphors, illustrating the pending gloom and doom in this year’s legislative session. The Idaho Statesman’s Dan Popkey collected some priceless quotes for his article in Sunday’s paper. “We have come to the cliff,” says Rep. Maxine Bell, … Continue reading →